GreekReporter.comSocietyCrimeFour Years On: Renewed Calls for Justice in Giorgos Karaivaz Murder Case

Four Years On: Renewed Calls for Justice in Giorgos Karaivaz Murder Case

By Tasos Kokkinidis
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Giorgos Karaivaz
The murder of Karaivaz “continues to cast a dark shadow over the Greek media and press freedom landscape.” Public Domain

International media freedom and journalism organizations marked the fourth anniversary of the murder of Greek crime reporter Giorgos Karaivaz in April 2021 with a renewed call for justice and an end to ongoing impunity.

Organizations including ARTICLE 19 Europe, European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), International Press Institute (IPI), Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in a joint statement said that the murder continues to cast a dark shadow over the Greek media and press freedom landscape.

Karaivaz, a veteran reporter who specialized in police and crime issues, was gunned down outside his home in Athens by two men on a moped on 9 April 2021, in what is widely suspected to have been a professional contract killing linked to organized crime groups.

An estimated 17 to 20 shell casings were found at the scene, and reports indicated that the killers used a silencer, as neighbors didn’t hear any gunshots.

Karaivaz was known for investigating organized crime and although he had been on the police beat since the ’90s and had collaborated with several news media as well as run his own website, he had not reported any threats against him or asked for police protection.

Arrests for Karaivaz murder lead to nowhere

In July 2024, two brothers arrested in May 2023 and charged with participating in the murder were found not guilty by a court due to insufficient evidence following an investigation in which key evidence was mysteriously destroyed.

Karaivaz’s family has appealed this decision, arguing that evidence and testimonies were not properly assessed. However, these appeals to the Supreme Court were rejected, and in December 2024, the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court issued a ruling closing the case.

In December 2024, the Mixed Jury Court of Athens then ruled conclusively that Karaivaz was murdered because of his journalistic work. This ruling represented a welcome recognition of the centrality of his journalistic work to his killing, though did nothing to further the case.

Since the acquittals, no additional arrests have been made and there is no further tangible progress in the criminal investigation, despite the fact that two other suspects are still wanted in connection with the murder. “The result is that one of the most serious attacks on journalism in the European Union in recent years continues to be met with total impunity,” the organizations say.

On the fourth anniversary of the killing, they urge law enforcement authorities and prosecutors to renew their efforts to identify, detain, and prosecute all those involved in the killing, from the gunmen to the mastermind, in whatever country they may be, if necessary with the assistance of international bodies such as Europol.

“Our organizations stand by the family and colleagues of Karaivaz in their ongoing search for justice and accountability for the assassination. Our organizations, which conducted a joint mission to Athens in 2023 during which we met with the family as well as judicial and law enforcement authorities, will continue to push for answers and justice,” the statement adds.

Related: Greece Press Freedom Index Improves; Still Last in EU

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